Vaginal Fantasy Book Club discussion
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What books have you given up on?
I'm one who usually pushes through a book until the end no matter what. But I couldn't finish Cuthulurotica. It wasn't due to bad writing, I was having some really bizarre dreams.I also have stalled on finishing Cloud Atlas.
Mod
Slaughterhouse-Five is another one I couldn't get through. It was a bit too post modern for my taste.
Most unfortunately, I'm currently stalled reading A Game of Thrones. I'm still under 100 pages in and I think I'm having trouble because there are so many different viewpoints that all ramp up at different speeds. There are some that I'm really excited to read about when I get to their chapter and others that I don't really care about.
I used to always finish books once I started them just as a matter of principle, but I do find myself changing the last few years. As I get older, I am not so patient but also am not as willing to spend time with characters that don't appeal to me (this also happens in real life). I figure time is short and there are a lot of books I still want to read - new ones coming out every day and old favourites that I like to re-read.Sometimes I will skip to the end and read the last chapter or two to see if I want to go back and fill in the blanks. Books I did that to in the past couple of years were "The Hunger Games", "The Magicians" and "Destiny of Witches". In all three cases, the end of the book just reinforced my decision to skip the last half or third.
I have also never gone past 100 pages in the first Lord of the Rings book - and although I may get back to it someday, about the same with "Game of Thrones". On the other hand, in spite of not being fond of dystopian themes, I raced through Justin Cronin's 900-page book, "The Passage".
I've given up on a few classics that I just couldn't care enough about (Anna Karenina, Don Quixote), but the one that I get a lot of flack for, is getting bored in the 2nd Lord of the Rings. The trees were SO BORING that I literally threw the book across the room. (I really liked the movies, though.)Basically if I can't connect with the main characters, it's a bit of a slog to get through. (Really enjoyed the first 3 Fire & Ice books, but if you're having problems with the 1st one, wait 'til you get to A Feast for Crows. It's a long'un!)
Most recently, I've put down Magyk and The Alchmeyst. I just couldn't stand the characters and the writing and they were just down right boring. I came close to throwing the first three House of Night books at a wall never to be picked up again, but I stuck with them and it actually gets better around book four. I really do try to finish each book I start, even if I don't like it, but sometimes it's just too much.
Mod
If I remember correctly the first half of RotK is Aragorn & Co, while the last have picks back up with Frodo and Sam. The first half was so much more action packed that the second half bored me.
Lord of the Rings- I literally threw the first book across the room because I hated it so much. Never read any of the rest. Or anything else by Tolkein.I almost quit the Game of Thrones Saga about book 3 too. I would have if not for my boyfriend saying things got better. Still not sure I agree completely.
I quit the Outlander series after Book 4 or 5 (can't quite remember which it was). Once it wasn't focused on Jamie & Claire I totally lost interest =P Loved the earlier stuff though up til book 4.
Would have given up on Fifty Shades if I'd had a choice. Definitely not reading further though
Spliter of the minds eye, god to the second chapter and I had had enough, so much so, I gave it away.
Vicky wrote: "Most unfortunately, I'm currently stalled reading A Game of Thrones. I'm still under 100 pages in and I think I'm having trouble because there are so many different viewpoints that all ramp up at different speeds. There are some that I'm really excited to read about when I get to their chapter and others that I don't really care about. "Vicky Im having the exact same problem.
Vicky wrote: "There are some that I'm really excited to read about when I get to their chapter and others that I don't really care about. ..."and unfortunately the few that we don't care about are necessary to follow the story
Oh, Outlander! My friends couldn't put down the whole series, but I barely got through the 2nd one. Also The Clan of the Cave Bear was a good'er, but despite the sexy-times in the rest of the series, there was WAY too much description of the scenery, and she invented EVERYTHING! (Stitches, pottery, shampoo, really?) I maxed out after #3.
I mostly finish books I start, it's series I tend to give up on.I put down the Anita Blake series because I just couldn't stand all of Anita's self righteous angsting and how she neutered all those vampires and shifters.
I never read the last in the Riley Jensen series. Full Moon Rising. I actually really liked most of the series, it was sexy and funny, and the MC made no apologies about the fact that she liked sex. I just kinda lost interest at the end.
I love Nora Roberts, but her Bride Quartet was a bit boring to me after the first two, so I never read the last one, and I still haven't read her newest trilogy about the Inn. I also have about 3 of her JD Robb in Death books to read. Dunno why I haven't read those yet, since this is one of my absolute favorite series, I just haven't really felt the urge.
Chloe Neill's Chicagoland Vampires series- I heard a spoiler of what happened to one of the MCs, and decided to wait til the next book came out, and just never went back. Sad, I loved this series too. Some Girls Bite
I read the first Outlander book.It was good, but I had no urge to continue on with the series.
I consider Cthulhurotica
finished as I gave it to the end of the sample available on goodreads to draw me in to purchase the book, it didn't. I'm just not interested in the myth. I also couldn't finish twilight watch
It was the third in the series but it really felt the series was over by now, and I just couldn't get into this last book. The only other book I have not been able to finish was Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls
, it was not written by the same guy that did the first one and it really showed, it was boring as hell. Zombies just shouldn't be boring.
Vicky wrote: "I forgot about Lord of the Rings! I've never finished The Return of the King. I was reading the trilogy for my senior year research paper and procrastinated so long that I didn't have time to actua..."I had the same problem. People get so upset when I tell them I read the rest, but couldn't make it through Return of the King. I just lost interest.
The Time Traveler's Wife..ugh..just ugh. Why is this so popular??Shiverwas just boring.
Then there was a A Galaxy Unknown, which kept popping up on my amazon recommended list. I don't think this would be that bad if the author got an editor. Pages and pages of ship description and a serious Mary Sue of a main character.
I have no problem lemming a book. I'm not gonna waste time on something if its boring me. I lemmed the 3rd Twilight book, Jane Eyre, Catch-22 (I've tried like, 4 times to read that), and Foundation.
Its the hobbit for me and because of this I never bothered to read the LOTR trilogy even though I love the movies. And all of Jane Austen's books except for persuasion-I loved it.
I couldn't get through Graceless by Kristen Cashore. I remember it started out so good but the lead character started to get on my nerves. The lead female character appeared strong and independent in the beginning but quickly all that disappeared and she just seemed hollow. Also, the romance the author was setting up was not believable for me.
Most recently I couldn't get through Cthulhurotica. I finished the first Game of Thrones book but I didn't like it, so I read the wiki for the remaining books (I wouldn't normally do such a thing but I was somewhat curious as to what would happen in the storyline but not curious enough to read the entire series). I used to finish a book that I had started no matter what, but as I get older I'm finding that life is just too short to read books you don't like!!
I too only made it about halfway through The Two Towers.I couldn't get through The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I've had several people tell me that if you make it through the first half of the book that it gets awesome. All of the corporate plots and details of the missing girl and their drudging efforts to find her put me to sleep. Literally.
Also, Good Omens, by Neil Gaiman/Terry Pratchett took me 7 years to finish. I bought it in hardcover 7 years ago, and bought it again as an e-book. I loved some of the humor in this book, but for whatever reason I just got bored with it and move on to better things. Finally finished it this year.
I haven't been able to finish some of the ones mentioned here (Jean Auel books totally tanked, Chtuluerotica because the stories got repetitive and Pride, Prejudice and Zombies because it just plain sucked.) Most recently I couldn't finish "Heart of Fire" by Kristin Painter. The heroine was The Biggest Mary Sue in the History of Ever and the hero was the stereotypical hangs-up-his-penis and violent ways because he meets the heroine.I skimmed Game of Thrones book 5 (seriously, are ANY of those storylines EVER coming back together?) and I skimmed some of the later Outlander books (the most recent one was ok IMO).
And now I am hoping the authors don't read my post - yikes! :P
I gave up on the Anita Blake series. It's one thing to have a lot of sexy times but group orgy's every single chapter just got old.
I made it halfway through A Game of Thrones / A Clash of Kings before flinging it across the room in disgust. I can't read a book where NOTHING good happens. EVER!
Clayton wrote: "I too only made it about halfway through The Two Towers.I couldn't get through The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I've had several people tell me that if you make it through the first half of the b..."
I nearly had the same problem with
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo but it picked up and was awesome. I flew through the rest of the series then went to see the movie with my mom!
I gave up on
- I just couldn't take it anymore and read something else.
Redrosevertigo0 wrote: "I made it halfway through A Game of Thrones / A Clash of Kings before flinging it across the room in disgust. I can't read a book where NOTHING good happens. EVER!"I haven't read the Game of Thrones series but I totally agree with you on this point. I actually gave up on an author for this style... nothing good every happens to the characters in China Miéville's books. Seriously, I read King Rat and Perdido Street Station and while both created rich and interesting worlds for my brain to explore, I need some hope for the characters. I don't think I can put myself reading through more of his works, I find them very depressing...
I understand not being able to get through Lord of the Rings, even though I love it. It is such a big commitment. My dad read it and the Hobbit to me when I was younger. That was a lot of fun.I completely forgot about Kushiel's Dart. I was reading an ebook copy on my computer and got bogged down in the childhood part. But then in the hangout that month, they mentioned there's a skinning scene and I was like, if there's skinning, I'm out.
The skinning scene is really brief. Yes it happens, but it's over very quickly. And not all that traumatic (although I sure wouldn't want it to happen to me).
I almost didn't make it through the Fellowship of The Rings. The Adventures of Tom Bombadil dragged for me and if it wasn't for a friend encouraging me to keep reading I would have put it down forever. Kushiel's Dart I finished but I did skim through a good portion of the beginning. I just didn't want to be lost or when watching the hang out.
Mod
I applaud your correct usage of "lem"
Dara wrote: "I have no problem lemming a book. I'm not gonna waste time on something if its boring me. I lemmed the 3rd Twilight book, Jane Eyre, Catch-22 (I've tried like, 4 times to read that), and Foundation."I'm ashamed to admit that I also have give up on Foundation.
I love Asimov with all my heart but I found myself stuck on the same paragraph for minutes and it's just wasn't working for me.
Catch 22 :( I Loved it so much at first, but it was taking me too long and all the references to other parts of the book got hard to follow and it was just so much chaos. I'm not even gonna try with Game of Thrones, I can barely keep up with the show I already know I can't handle the books haha
I do this all the time. :/ Currently stalled on Cloud Atlas and the most recent Song of Ice and Fire. I will finish them one day but they tend to take so long that it's easy to get enticed by new books.I totally dropped Kushiel's Dart with no remorse. I loved the first half but the second was so vastly different and it just didn't stick with me as much.
It might take me a very long time to get through books if they are not interesting, but the only ones I can think of that I have just completely given up on are The Two Towers and The Casual Vacancy.I tried to read the LOTR series in middle school and got stalled with The Two Towers. I am going back and rereading the whole series now, so we will see if I like it better this time. The Casual Vacancy was awful. I could not do it. It was so unnecessarily description about disgusting things. The book just made me feel dirty. I wanted to love it, because I love Harry Potter and JK Rowling, but I could not finish that book and I do not want to try.
I physically cannot stop reading a book because so many times, books have started off slow for me and I ended up loving it. The only book I can think of is Jude the Obscure and it was because I just didn't care about the protagonist, but I at least read to the 2/3's mark.
The Story of O. I just got mad at O. The whole, he is proving he loves me by giving me to someone else to defile, doesn't sit well with me.The other is Mist of Avalon. I can't watch a movie or miniseries and then the book. This was the first book to show me that.
I couldn't handle The Hobbit. Probably because I tried reading it straight after The Silmarillion (which was amazing). I'll try again one day, probably once I have a sprog.
I tried to listen to LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring on audiobook and could not finish it. I feel awful about it since I love The Hobbit.Another one is Clash of Kings. I recognize that Song of Ice and Fire has some of the best writing in the genre and I might try again later, but it was a little to hardcore for me in the sexual assault department.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I was reading it for a book and couldn't even stick it out for that. I almost quit Wicked but stuck with it for the club.
Carolyn F. wrote: "I gave up on - I just couldn't take it anymore and read something else."I finished this one, but I will never read another Jaquelyn Carey joint. When I got to end of the book and found out the parade of characters wasn't even necessary as their face time was brief and without any depth I decided to lem this author. "Fool me once . . ." as the saying goes.
Clayton wrote: "I too only made it about halfway through The Two Towers.I couldn't get through The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I've had several people tell me that if you make it through the first half of the b..."
I had a really hard time with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for the first 300 pages. It got a little better after that, not much, but enough to finish the book. However, I'm not rushing to finish the series. I found the only character worth caring about was Lisbeth. Michael really bugged me with his being apparently "God's gift to women". He really made me want to vomit.
Other books I've given up on finishing: Master of None by Sonia Bateman (couldn't get behind the main character), Unless by Carol Shields (it was awhile ago but I believe it was merely boredom), and Lady of Hay by Barbara Erskine (way WAY too rapey).
I recently set aside The Great Book of Amber by Roger Zelazny, not because of disinterest, but because too many other books came up and I want to be more dedicated to reading this epic fantasy. I plan to pick it up my next vacation.
Fifty Shades of Grey was the last one I gave up on. Right when he presents her with a contract on their second date and you can see that all she wants are his money and lifestyle I was done. Also, the names of classic books weren't even spelled correctly which led me to believe the whole book would be that way. This is a perfect example of quantity, not quality.
I'm the type of person that needs closure, BUT I will say I have given up on a few books...and it still haunts me.I got most of the way through Midnight In the Garden of Good and Evil (I just didn't care about any of the characters) and forced myself to through A Song of Ice and Fire, but will go no further in the series. I could go on and on about the many reasons I don't like this book, but we'll just let that one alone.
There are currently 2 books that I pick up every now and then and continue on with the story, but only get a couple more chapters done. Those are: Les Miserables and A Romance in the Forest.
House of Leaves. I've had this book since my senior year of high school and got about a quarter into it before I stopped. It's still on my to-read list and one day I will try to make it through to the end, but for now I've given up on ever actually finishing that one.
I try really hard not to give up on books. I'll read a book and hate it all the way through. No idea why. The books I've given up on are -Crime and Punishment - no idea how to keep those Russian names straight.
One day I will finish it though. I just keep looking at all those that haven't finish LOTR and getting sad. :(
Kaleigh Breedlove wrote: "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I was reading it for a book and couldn't even stick it out for that. I almost quit Wicked but stuck with it for the club."I liked the alternate take on the world of Oz, and its interesting new characters. Elphaba was a strong modern woman whom I liked, but her life and outlook were bleak, and her heroism came to nothing. I regret struggling through to the end, and won't read any sequels.
Apparently the musical was more upbeat, 'cause my kids loved it enough to see it SEVERAL times.
Vicky wrote: "I forgot about Lord of the Rings! I've never finished The Return of the King. I was reading the trilogy for my senior year research paper and procrastinated so long that I didn't have time to actua..."It took me 30 years to finish it! I loved The Fellowship of The Ring, and used to read it to my kids. But we all got bored with The Two Towers, and I only resumed reading when the movie came out.
Nicole wrote: "......twilight watch. It was the third in the series but it really felt the series was over by now..."I felt that the first 2 books would have been better titled "Despatches from ...", since they were short stories which turned out to loosely-linked to a larger narrative. The "Night Watch" movie extracted a clearer main plot line which, despite deviating from the book and incorporated elements from "Day Watch", was consistent in tone and more satisfying. Interestingly, the author was a script consultant.
I haven't read Twilight Watch, and feel no burning need to do so. If you want a clear and complete story, the movie does it best. The books are just episodes in the lives of the characters.
I had to give up Bram Stoker's Dracula. I got fed up with the characters' stupidity and the dullness of it all and had to give it up.
Vaginal Fantasy Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Deadly Business (other topics)Kushiel's Dart (other topics)
Kushiel's Dart (other topics)
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (other topics)
A Game of Thrones / A Clash of Kings (other topics)
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-Jane Eyre: I made it through her sad childhood, but then when she starts as a governess and draws a nice portrait of another lady and a crappy charcoal picture of herself, I didn’t like how crazy low her self-esteem was. Later, we read excerpts of it for school and Mr. Rochester came off as super controlling, so I didn’t feel that bad about skipping it.
-Dracula: Middle-school me couldn’t handle the image of Dracula’s hairy palms.
-Wind in the Willows: I just remember being very bored by it.
-Inkdeath: I’d read the first two books in this series a while before and when I picked up this one, I just couldn’t remember who all the characters were and what they were trying to do. There were enough characters and places for the book to need a glossary, and I thought that was too much for a book I was just reading casually. I did leave my bookmark in this one though.